Bobos In Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There

Rating:
Summary: Waste of Time
Review: This book is great reading material if you have problems falling asleep.

Rating:
Summary: light-hearted study of the new-money bohemians
Review: In the pages of David Brooks' light-hearted look at the "new-money" upper class, you'll recognize people you know. Brooks has perfect pitch for the way they talk, the way they decorate their living and working environments, their vehicles, amusements and pre-occupations---in short, the life-style of the highly educated, newly rich, "bobos"---bourgeois bohemians.

Their "merit elite," mixing an unlikely blend of corporate capitalism with free-spirited hippiehood, produces wide-ranging cognitive dissonance. Brooks' perceptive eye duly records all, and presents it to the reader with a heavy dose of calculated wit. Since Brooks is a self-confessed bobo himself, the humor is not mocking but lightly ironic.

This entertaining chronicle of our time will make you laugh as you ponder just where your own lifestyle fits into the "bobo" establishment.


Rating:
Summary: this again?
Review: people always try to sell books by describing each new generation like it's unique and special in some way, noble or comic. the beat generation, the lost generation, yuppies, slackers, bobos... it's all marketing/media. people in their 20s tend to be apathetic and confused, people in their 30s tend to have more disposable income.

organic food is popular because there are a lot of pollutants and other bad stuff in our foods.

good coffee is popular for the same reason good beer "was" popular ten years ago. but, of course, good beer is still popular, it's just not news anymore. there will always be an audience for making fun of others.

Rating:
Summary: an interesting argument of contemporary society
Review: Brooks makes an astute observation about the "elites" of American society, that has some merit. Essentially, the old industrial elite of the last century - those who made their wealth as captains of industry (and their families) are being gradually replaced with what Brooks calls "BoBo's": the Bohemian Bourgeoisie, with its own set of values and mores. There is much to suggest that this is happening, and Brooks provides some excellent examples to support his position ("eco-tourism," "extreme-anything," and the rise of the "Latte Village" are the examples that hit closest to home.) But what struck me was the nature of this new elite. Rather than parley industrial creation into wealth, BoBos become wealthy through their education, ideas and creativity - previously the realm of intellectuals rather than capitalists - the result of the new "information age". Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos are examples of this. Like the bourgeoise of 200 years ago who replaced the landed aristocracy, Brooks argues, these new comers are replacing the "old guard." And as happened 200 years ago, the new arrivals are replacing old cultural values with their own. The book is a little slow to start (things don't get going until almost 50 pages into it), but the idea is an intriguing one - and it will give you pause to think as you climb into your SUV or order a half-caf, skinny, black and white mocha.